Gavi's, the iconic restaurant that began the renaissance of downtown Willoughby 16 years ago, will serve its last restaurant meal at the end of April.

But owners Dave and Mary Gromelski, who have catered area fundraisers for three U.S. presidents in recent years, will use the Gavi's location in the historic power house building as a venue for gatherings. Its kitchen will be employed to prepare meals for in-house events as well as parties staged in private homes and other places.

The announcement ends weeks of speculation that another restaurant would take over the Gavi's space.

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"This is very exciting news," said longtime Willoughby Mayor Dave Anderson. "This is the one thing Willoughby has been lacking and now we'll have a place right here for meetings and events without having to leave the city."

The couple also own Sara's Place in Gates Mills, which they named after their 7-year-old daughter Sara.

"We've already booked 17 events for May," said Dave Gromelski. His wife, Mary, has largely developed the catering end of the business.

The Gromelskis, known for their hands-on style of managing both restaurants, cited a desire to work together again and spend more time with their daughter as part of the reason for the change. Dave would be at one restaurant while Mary was at another and Mary's mother was at home with their daughter.

"We'll still have our own parties, such as Mother's Day dinner," Dave said.

"This is sad," said Loretta Paganini, who operates a Chester Township cooking school for professional chefs. The News-Herald contacted her by phone in Florida where she was consulting on the establishment of a restaurant on Sanibel Island.

Almost two decades ago, she worked with the Gromelskis to plan details of Gavi's, which is named after the Gavi region in northern Italy. Early on the Gromelskis decided to devote their kitchen to the dishes served in that region of Italy and even brought a chef from the Gavi region to Willoughby to plan the menu and the wines and teach their own chefs.

Their plan captured the imaginations of food lovers from throughout Northeast Ohio and soon reservations for a Saturday dinner needed to be made weeks in advance. After the Gavi's phenomena was reported in national media, dinner there became a must for visitors to Cleveland.

"It's sad to see the restaurant go, but in many ways I'm surprised they hadn't done this before," Paganini said. "Dave and Mary are very good business people and their catering business has really grown."

Catering is more desirable as a business model because there's more control over expenses.

"We know in advance how much food to order and the staff we'll need and what kinds of wine and bar needs there will be," Mary said.

Restaurants serve a perishable product, never knowing how many people will turn up for dinner on a given night.

Catering a big fundraiser such as those they've done for George W. Bush (twice), his father George Bush, and Barack Obama takes lots of planning, Dave said.

"After all, they're trying to raise money with the event so they want it to be very nice but they don't want to spend everything on food and wine," he said. "We've got to be right on with the rentals and every other area."

The Gromelskis and their staff all had to undergo rigorous security checks to cater those events in Kirtland and Hunting Valley, Mary said.

"And everyone is pledged to secrecy in advance," she added.

The couple plan to remodel parts of the restaurant, which includes a 120-seat main dining room, a 50-seat veranda and an outdoor patio with bar and gazebo.

"It will be a lot easier to do now that we won't be open for lunch and dinner every day," Dave said.

"We'll be able, for instance, to have carpeting replaced on a Monday and Tuesday when we have no catering jobs or have work done in the veranda when it's not booked."